Building guidelines
Approval of health care premises for licensing
Under the Private Hospitals and Day Procedure Centres Act 1988 the Director-General of the NSW Department of Health can impose conditions relating to the design and construction of any building to be built, altered or extended for the purposes of operating a licensed private health facility.
Before any building work is commenced, an applicant for a licence for a new facility, or the licensee of an existing licensed facility, must apply to and receive written approval, from NSW Health for the plans and specifications for the facility.
Approval process
Australasian Health Facility Guidelines (HFG)
All new and refurbished work should comply with the HFG which provide for a reasonable, safe and affordable standard of care as determined by NSW Health. They do not cover management practices beyond their influence on design. Designs for private health facilities that depart from the guidelines will not be approved unless clear patient and/or service benefits can be demonstrated and justified.
Prescriptive limitations, when given, such as exact recommended dimensions or quantities, describe a condition commonly recognised as a practical standard for normal operation. Where specific measurements, capacities or other standards are described, equivalent alternative solutions may be deemed acceptable if it is demonstrated that the intent of the standards has been met.
Building Code of Australia (BCA)
The BCA contains technical provisions for the design and construction of buildings and other structures, covering such matters as structure, fire resistance, access and egress, services and equipment, and certain aspects of health care facilities. The classification of a building or part of a building is determined by the purpose for which it is designed, constructed or adapted to be used. Class 9 is a building of a public nature and Class 9A is a health-care building.
- a public or private hospital
- a nursing home or similar facility for sick or disabled persons needing full-time care
- a clinic, day surgery or procedure unit where the effects of the predominant treatment administered involve patients becoming non-ambulatory and requiring supervised medical care on the premises for some time after the treatment.
This web page is managed and authorised by Private Health Care of Centre for Health Protection of the NSW Department of Health. Last updated: 30 March, 2009